Composition at Penn State

Penn State offers a unique composition curriculum that balances the practice of compositional skill, entrepreneurship, historical perspectives, and artistic risk-taking. The essence of this approach is one that focuses equally on tradition and innovation while expanding a composer’s creative outlook and providing the additional skills a student needs to disseminate their compositions to the world.  The curriculum follows a fluid trajectory of projects, teamwork, interdisciplinary collaborations, and career-building activities. Students of this program are equally involved in performances and activities related to their works on and off campus, nationally and internationally. While the development of compositional skill and musicianship is the primary focus, the extra-compositional activities are distinctive to our program and account for the high rate of student success achieved by Penn State composition students.

Students have opportunities to hear fully realized performances of their works on concerts offered throughout the year. Furthermore, interactions between the composer and performer(s) are required from the beginning of the creation of a work. Students have had additional opportunities to hear performances of their works on School of Music ensemble concerts, such as Concert Choir, University Choir, Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and Percussion Ensemble, plus instrumental studio concerts, student recitals, and specially produced performances in various venues on campus.

Please visit the Penn State Composition Program website to learn more about our students, curriculum, and new-music activities.